Does the 7-Second TikTok Problem Truly Work?

Whereas dancing, lip-synching, mom-pranking, and trying to make “goblincore” a thing are among the many extra fashionable issues to do on TikTok, for bold creators and social media managers, there’s one exercise that trumps all of them: attempting to recreation the TikTok algorithm.

At this level, TikTok has been downloaded more than 2 billion times, with over 689 million energetic customers globally. It’s the fastest-growing social media platform on the planet, and making it onto the For You Page (or “FYP,” as TikTok customers far busier than me say) is a chance to get a style of an enormous, extremely engaged new viewers.

The For You Web page is the place likes, views, and new followers are discovered; the place TikTok legends are born! No marvel so many individuals are obsessive about attempting to crack the code (and why we’ve spent a lot time experimenting with TikTok hacks ourselves!)

So after we heard a few new problem that allegedly supplied a shortcut to getting on the FYP, we jumped on it. Often called the Seven-Second Problem, TikTok creators had been reporting unimaginable engagement, just by posting text-heavy, seven-second movies that includes trending audio clips.

Was it actually that simple? Or only a coincidence? The Hootsuite social group warmed up their typing thumbs, cued up a sizzling new monitor, and bravely hit file to seek out out.

@marisssabrooks

Lmk if this labored for you??‍♀️ #sevensecondchallenge #lifestylefitness #blackgirltiktok #gootd

♬ Breakin my heart – Jodeci’s groupie

It’s a hack to beat the TikTok algorithm that appears virtually too simple — suspicious, even! No marvel many of the movies tagged with the trending TikTok hashtag #sevensecondchallenge embody textual content that feedback on the whether or not or not the problem itself truly works. Even the Pink Sox (baseball, perhaps you’ve heard of it?) are giving it a whirl.

@redsox

Did it work? Did we go viral but? #sevensecondchallenge #7seconds #redsox

♬ Everybody Wants To Rule The World – The Moving Stills

@nonieemariee

Lmk if this works for you ??‍♀️ #sevensecondchallenge #fypシ #viral #Ohio #cleveland

♬ Breakin my heart – Jodeci’s groupie

Some #sevensecondchallenge movies have achieved hundreds of thousands of views; others had a much smaller attain. However to actually choose if this speculation was true, the Hootsuite group must put its personal account to the check.

Methodology

Three key substances are required for the seven-second TikTok problem:

1. A seven-second video. In keeping with the speculation, the precise content material of this video doesn’t actually matter. It may very well be a rainbow over a ball stadium, a mirror shot of your greatest athleisure outfit, or footage of you eating popcorn out of a tub. Comply with your bliss!
2. A trending sound clip. TikTok already prioritizes movies with trending audio in any case on its FYP (a minimum of with the latest TikTok algorithm), so this element is essential! Don’t attempt to be an authentic right here: bow to the whims of the plenty!
3. “Tons” of textual content. There doesn’t appear to be a constant suggestion for the way lengthy “heaps” is, however most individuals attempting this hack write a few paragraph — mainly, one thing that may take seven seconds to learn.

“Some individuals publish movies of individuals actually doing nothing, different movies are informational,” says Hootsuite social advertising coordinator Eileen Kwok. “Individuals get artistic with it, which is the enjoyable a part of TikTok.”

With this in thoughts, Kwok and Hootsuite’s social media group created three completely different movies to publish and observe.

The primary featured Owly, a ton of textual content, and a trending tune.

@hootsuite

Am I sufficient?

♬ original sound – Chicks

Video two featured a Hootsuite group member tapping away on her pc, with textual content a few “productiveness hack,” and a trending tune.

@hootsuite

do this hack your self ??

♬ original sound – material growl ??

Video three showcased one other Hootsuite group member engaged on a laptop computer poolside, with textual content explaining the seven-second development. This time, nevertheless, the video used authentic audio of somebody counting all the way down to seven as an alternative of a trending tune.

@hootsuite

DIY model of the #7secondchallenge

♬ original sound – Hootsuite

Now, we flip to TikTok analytics — and our TikTok professional Kwok! — to see if this trio of movies had been a #sevensecondsuccess.

Outcomes

TL;DR: The seven-second problem resulted in longer-than-average watch occasions and farther attain on the For You Web page.

In comparison with the typical variety of views a Hootsuite TikTok video will get, the primary two movies, which used trending audio, carried out properly — the second specifically, with virtually half 1,000,000 views.

Additionally noteworthy: the watch time on these sizzling slices of content material.

However what actually stood out to Kwok about this experiment was what number of of those views got here from the For You Web page.

“It’s the holy grail of TikTok,” says Kwok. “The upper the proportion of FYP views, the higher it does.”

Right here’s a more in-depth take a look at the analytics for every video:

For the Owly video, 50% of the views got here from the For You web page: proof that it obtained some critical attain.

Much more spectacular was the FYP efficiency of the Supervisor Tip video, as a result of 100% (!) of the views got here from the For You Web page. (In truth, the Supervisor Tip video remains to be performing properly even weeks later, with likes and views rising daily.)

Compared, the Poolside video, which garnered the bottom stats of all three of those experimental masterpieces, solely had 36% of views come from the For You Web page.

There have been a few elements distinguishing the Poolside video from the opposite two that would account for this dip in efficiency. Primary, it used authentic audio as an alternative of trending audio, and quantity two, the textual content didn’t actually supply a lot of a takeaway.

In different phrases: it veered away from the beneficial construction of the seven-second problem, and could be proof that this hack, in contrast to so many different supposed TikTok fast fixes, does truly work.

What do the outcomes imply?

From this little experiment, we’ve discovered respectable proof of some new TikTok practices to assist amp up your engagement and attain.

Longer textual content = longer watch occasions

It’s not stunning {that a} paragraph of textual content encourages viewers to stay together with your video longer — they’re prone to be tempted to learn the entire thing. Pique that curiosity and reap the engagement advantages.

“The extra textual content you may have on the display screen, the higher. It will increase watch time,” says Kwok. (Seems like we’re not simply scientists over right here on the Experiments Blog… we’re math wizards, too!)

However… what the textual content says issues

Sure, longer textual content makes a distinction. However it shouldn’t simply be gibberish. (Sorry to any Minions or Sims studying this.) “There must be some level to it, whether or not it’s humorous or cheeky or informative,” says Kwok.

The primary two movies supplied some leisure worth, whereas the textual content of video quantity three was sort of just like the copy from a sequence electronic mail, which may presumably account for the shortage of engagement right here.

The Supervisor Tip video specifically garnered a startling variety of shares, probably as a result of it had a transparent takeaway (even when it was probably-maybe-sort-of a joke). Movies with plenty of shares get an algorithmic enhance — TikTok needs everybody to get a style of share-worthy content material! — so think about this your incentive to make use of textual content that gives useful sizzling suggestions.

Hold the video quick

One of many causes this problem could also be working is that it retains issues transient. On TikTok, brevity is king.

“I’m not saying it must be seven seconds, however shorter is best,” advises Kwok. “Individuals have quick consideration spans, particularly on TikTok.” Nevertheless lengthy the video is in complete, you’re not delivering worth in these first three seconds, you’re in all probability too late.

… and preserve them watching

The algorithm favors movies with excessive watch occasions, so if there’s a solution to hook the viewer and preserve them watching, do it. The lots-of-text trick is one solution to stop them from skipping previous your video, however typically talking, creating participating video content material that’s entertaining and informative goes to serve you properly.

What TikTok customers think about entertaining and informative, although, is perhaps a matter for an additional experiment.

“There’s no proper reply,” laughs Kwok. “I’ll spend so lengthy on a video I feel is so humorous and get nothing, after which a video I spend no time on does tremendous properly.”

Fortunately, it’s a platform that’s good for experimentation. Get creative, dig into the outcomes, and discover your personal good mix of content material. Is that as attractive as a #sevensecondchallege? Possibly not. However we’re certain you could find a fun TikTok hashtag to throw on no matter you provide you with in any case.